Advertisement

Halibut Packets with Mushrooms & Polenta

January/February 2012

Your rating: None Average: 4.8 (5 votes)

Garlicky mushrooms spiked with bacon make a lovely garnish for halibut and polenta. We can’t decide what we like best about this dish: the flavors, healthfulness, ease or the fact that there is so little cleanup! Serve with steamed green beans tossed with olive oil, whole-grain mustard and a squeeze of lemon.


Halibut Packets with Mushrooms & Polenta Recipe

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 4 slices center-cut bacon, chopped
  • 1 cup sliced red onion
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 8 ounces sliced mixed mushrooms
  • 1/4 cup white wine, preferably Pinot Grigio
  • 1 14- to 18-ounce tube prepared polenta, sliced into 8 rounds
  • 4 5-ounce halibut or cod fillets (see Tip), skinned
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
  • 1/4 cup sliced fresh basil

Preparation

  1. Preheat oven to 450°F. Tear off 4 sheets of parchment paper or foil (about 12 by 24 inches each); if using foil, coat with cooking spray.
  2. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add bacon and cook until softened and starting to brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Add onion and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes. Stir in mushrooms and cook until beginning to brown, 4 to 7 minutes. Add wine and scrape up any browned bits. Remove from the heat.
  3. To make packets, set a sheet of parchment or foil with a long side closest to you. Fold in half from a short end, then open like a book. Place 2 slices of polenta on one side. Set a fillet on the polenta and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Divide the mushroom mixture among the packets, spooning it over the fish. Close the packets and seal the edges with small, tight folds.
  4. Place the packets on a large baking sheet. Bake the packets until the fish is just cooked through, about 14 minutes. (Carefully open one packet to check for doneness—be cautious of the steam.) Set each packet on its own plate. Cut an X in the top with scissors and carefully fold open. Serve sprinkled with basil.

Tips & Notes

  • Make Ahead Tip: Equipment: Parchment paper or foil
  • Tip: Wild-caught halibut from the Pacific and Pacific cod, a.k.a. Alaska cod, are considered a good choice for the environment because it is sustainably fished and has a larger, more stable population, according to Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch (seafoodwatch.org).

Nutrition

Per serving: 276 calories; 8 g fat ( 2 g sat , 5 g mono ); 76 mg cholesterol; 15 g carbohydrates; 0 g added sugars; 32 g protein; 1 g fiber; 569 mg sodium; 905 mg potassium.

Nutrition Bonus: Potassium (26% daily value).

Carbohydrate Servings: 1

Exchanges: 1/2 starch, 1 vegetable, 4 lean meat, 1 fat


More From EatingWell

Recipe Categories

Main Ingredient
Fish
Total Time
45 minutes or less
Preparation/ Technique
Saute
Bake
Servings
4
Ethnic/Regional
American
Meal/Course
Dinner

Publication
January/February 2012
Ease of Preparation
Easy
Advertisement

Free Newsletters

EatingWell This Week
EatingWell Diet
EatingWell for Health
and special offer emails

EatingWell Magazine

| | Customer Service
Advertisement

The EatingWell Market

Featured Sponsors


World Wide Web Health Award Winner
Web Award Winner
World Wide Web Health Award Winner
Interactive Media Award Winner